POLS 1101 1st edition Lecture 27 Outline of Previous Lecture I Logic of Collective Action II Incentives III Insider Lobbying IV Interest Group Politics Controversial Thriving Outline of Current Lecture I Federal State Courts II Justifiability III Circuit Court of Appeals IV Supreme Court Jurisdiction V Federal Judges Current Lecture I Federal State Courts U S Supreme Court Circuit Court of Appeals U S District Courts State Court of Last Resort Intermediate Courts Trial Courts Georgia has 3 federal district courts There are 12 U S Circuit Courts of Appeals o If you have an appeal from the district court in Atlanta it will go to the 11th circuit court Limited Jurisdiction o Federal courts are courts of limited Jurisdiction o They are limited for efficiency States create laws and the ability for people to sue each other and that is for state courts Federal courts can only hear cases over which they have subject matter jurisdiction o Cases arising under the US Constitution or federal law o Cases in which the Federal Government is a party o Cases between states These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute II III IV V o Cases between citizens of different states over 75 000 Diversity Cases o Maritime law if you are boating on the ocean or it is a case concerning a country o Cases involving foreign countries Federal courts can t do whatever they want and take whatever cases they want they are restricted Justifiability The Constitution defines judicial power as extending to cases and controversies This means o No advisory opinions o Parties must have standing the right of an individual or organization to initiate a case o The issue must not be moot a case that no longer requires resolution Defunis v Odegaard 1974 o No political questions Vieth v Jubelirer 2004 Gerrymandering District Courts must have personal jurisdiction typically this means the parties to the case must either reside within the District or have ties to the District Circuit Court of Appeals If you lose a court case than you can appeal to the Court of Appeals District courts are trial courts district court decisions on matters of law are appealable to a Circuit Court of Appeals 3 Judge panel selected at random Re hearing en banc when you don t like the decision of the Circuit Court of Appeals so you can ask for a rehearing On an appeal a Circuit Court can o Affirm the decision of the District Court i e let it stand o Look at the rest Supreme Court Jurisdiction The Writ of Certiorari o When the court picks which cases it wants to hear o 75 80 cases per term are selected o The Rule of 4 Only 4 justices have to agree to grant a writ of certiorari Federal Judges Appointed by the President Subject to the advice and consent of the Senate Serve for life on Good Behavior Federal judges salaries are set by Congress The Constitution provides that the compensation of an Article III judge may not be reduced during their tenure By law the Supreme Court has nine justices Congress and the Executive Branch can adjust the number of justices by statute How the Judges are nominated o Party affiliation o Competency ABA Rating o Ideology o Judicial Diversity for a long time Judges were rich white men o Confirmability The President can nominate the most qualified person in the world but at the end of the day the Senate must confirm that nominee That nominee must have 60 votes Confirmations o Hyper Partisan o Media Attention Sometimes when the media focuses so much attention on a nominee it can sometimes sink the nominees chances o Interest Groups o Robert Bork was nominated by President Reagan he was not successfully confirmed Bork when a Judge is nominated but is not approved by the Senate o Ginsburg Rule o Once Judges are confirmed they Judicial Review If a law violates the Constitution the Judges must strike down that law Overturning Decisions o Statutory Interpretation very easy to overturn their decision Congress President by Statute o Constitutional Interpretation extremely difficult Constitutional Amendment o The Court can overturn itself Paradox of Judicial Review o A group of Judges who are not elected who serve life terms are intended to preserve a republic o They uphold minority rights but often reflect majoritarian opinions o They prevent the majority from abusing minorities but not always
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